This wrap-up of the weekend in both college and pro football is named after the classic post-game quote immortalized by all-time favorite whipping boy Ricky Watters.
The state of instant replay is a joke right now, and I think it comes down to semantics: Referees do not grasp what the word indisputable means. Seriously. I refs can broken down into two groups: the ones who think “indisputable” means “probably”, and one which thinks it means “Only if the Lord himself appears before you and says “Overturn it”.
In the last two weeks I’ve seen a play get overturned when the replay was dark, shadowy, grainy, and, to my eyes at least, very disputable, and another play stay as called despite a replay clearly showing the call was wrong. You just don’t know what you’ll get in any game – will it be a head ref incapable of convincing, or one who’ll take any excuse to overturn a call.
The added issue of the head coaches being consistently and maddeningly ill-prepared to make the right call about when to use their challenges, and the whole replay experience has become a bit of an eye-sore on the NFL landscape. When a call is clearly butchered a fan has so many things to worry about: "Will the coach challenge?", "Will a replay show conclusive evidence?", "Will the ref be reasonable?"
The more I think of it, a hybrid between the college and pro system might be the way to go. Take the best from the college system (Every play is eligible for booth review, coaches still get their own challenge if booth won’t review, an off-field official in the booth making the calls), and the best from pro system (two challenges, three if you get the first two right), and you have a workable system, where everybody has a chance to right a wrong, and on-field officials aren’t asked to do too much.
College Round-up:
--After another exciting weekend of college football, here’s my new Top 10:
1. Texas Tech (9-0)
2. Alabama (9-0)
3. Penn State (9-0)
4. Texas (8-1)
5. Oklahoma (8-1)
6. Florida (7-1)
7. USC (7-1)
8. Oklahoma State (8-1)
9. Utah (9-0)
10. Boise State (8-0)
Last week, I said Texas or Alabama would lose (and likely both), and it only took me one week to look prescient,. Of course, I also said this loss would allow Penn State to sneak by them and into the top two, so how come I still have them at #3? Well, for two reasons: 1) Texas Tech was too impressive this weekend to keep out of the top spot, and 2) I only said Penn State would make it into the top two by the end of the season, and I still believe that for the same reasons I did then (more on that below).
--Texas/Texas Tech was a game for the ages. The atmosphere was intense, the momentum switches were dramatic and only increased in frequency as the game went on, and the ending was one for the ages. Texas almost withstood one of the great tests a #1 team has ever had – playing the nation’s top passing combo, and a fired-up defense in a tough road venue – and, in doing so, almost overcame one of the great schedule tests a team has ever had – facing four Top 10 teams (Oklahoma, Missouri, Oklahoma State and Tech) all in a row.
Now, Tech is Big 12 team with a bull’s eye on their backs, and they’ve just begun to run their schedule’s Top 10 gauntlet – their next two games are against Oklahoma State and Oklahoma. If they get through all that, they can look forward to a date with Missouri in the Big 12 Championship Game. That kind of run of tough teams was the reason I thought Texas would end up with at least one loss, and as good as the Red Raiders looked Saturday, I have to say the same thing about them. Still, I’ll be rooting for Mike Leach’s darkhorses from Lubbock to keep the magic alive, if only so his success can remove the stigma pirate fetishists have long been saddled with.
--Next week’s big game: ‘Bama tries to stay at the top of the polls, by keeping their perfect record intact at LSU. It’s the first of three tough tests, the Tide will have to overcome to play for a championship under Coach
NFL Round-up:
--In my initial NFL wrap-up column, I touted the Dolphins and especially the Falcons as two young teams on the rise, with impressive rookie coaches, who just might continue to confound preseason expectations. Four weeks later and they still look good.
The Falcons, behind former Jags defensive coordinator Mike Smith, are 5-3 and are a serious threat to win the NFC South, depending on how they play the Panthers and Bucs later in the season. Meanwhile, the ‘Phins are 4-4 behind Parcells chosen one, Tony Sparano, and though they likely won’t make the playoffs (they are last in their division), they seem to be well on the path to competing in the near future.
--Is Dallas dead? They sure look it. Though they still have a winning record at 5-4, they are in last place in their division, are without several key players, and now have a QB controversy on top of everything. With Tony Romo still out, the offense struggling, and both Brad Johnson and Brooks Bollinger playing give-away with the football, the team appears rudderless. In that division, they can’t afford to sink any further, but there’s no help on the horizon – at least for a couple of weeks until Romo gets back. By then it may be too late.
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